Maternity girdle



June 19, 1951 M. E. SCHLAGETER MATERNITY GIRDLE Filed Jan. 3, 1949 candy, 4

Patented June 19, 1951 UNITED} STATES MATERNITY GIRDLE Mary E. Schlageter, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Kabo, Inc., a corporation of Illinois Application January 3, 1949, Serial No. 68,899

2 Claims. (Cl. 2-27) This invention relates to a girdle, and par- H ticularly to adjustable means secured to said girdle to provide adequate body support for a pregnant woman.

During a womans pregnacy it is very important to provide a girdle that will give her body a form as shapely as possible, and yet provide adequate support for helping the expectant mother carry her child without too much discomfort. A fixed support securedto the girdle is not suitable because, even though it is elastic, it can not always accommodate itself to the progressive changes of shape of the woman during her pregnancy and often binds and thus makes the wearer uncomfortable.

Itis within the contemplation of the present invention to provide a girdle with supporting means that may be adjusted in position to accommodate different shapes assumed by a womans body during pregnancy. The supporting means is designed to furnish proper support for the users abdomen without pinching or binding any part of the expectant mothers body. For this purpose the girdle is' provided with fastening means that may be laced tightly at any points desired, and loosely at other points where comfort is more important than appearance. A pair of bands are crossed in the front portion of the girdle to furnish extra support for the user's abdomen and are adjustable vertically relative to the girdle to move the support to where it is needed.

The structure by which the above advantages are attained will be described in the following specification, taken in conjunction with the ac- Y companying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of the maternity girdle embodying the invention as worn by a woman;

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the-girdle with a 'portion of the back broken away to show the vertically adjustable crossed supporting bands;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view through the girdle, taken along the line 3--3 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged View of the girdle turned inside out to shown the fastening means which permit vertical adjustment of the crossed supporting bands.

In the drawings, the reference numeral 2 indicates the front portion of a girdle which is joined to a back portion 3 by means of a pair of gussets or inserts 4 and 5. The front and back portions are preferably made of two-way stretch elastic fabric and the inserts of thin non-elastic fabric. A row of loops .6 extends along each opposite edge of both front and back portions, and laces l are threaded through the loops. .The laces are long enough so that they may be tied as tightly or as,

loosely as desired, at any intermediate point, as indicated at B and 9, for example, as well as at the ends, so that the fastening of the girdle by theselaces may provide some degree of support and comfort for the wearer. It is obvious that the gussets will provide for expansion of the girdle as the wearer increases in size.

A pair of bands It] and H, crossed inside front portion 2, preferably in X formation, provide extra support for the wearers abdomen. The

bands are preferably stitched together to form a single unit and are of substantial height to prevent undesired binding pressures on very limited portions of the wearers body. Each pair of corresponding ends of the bands are stitched to a strip I2 of any suitable strong fabric to which a series of hooks I3 is secured. A strip l4, similar to strip l2, secured to front panel 2 at each side thereof, carries a series of eyes I5 at intervals spaced to correspond to the spacing of hOOks l3; A soft flannel flap I6 is secured to each strip l4 so as to overlie the eyes and also the hooks when the hooks are engaged with the eyes. The fiannel strips furnish protection to the wearers skin and keep the fastening means from pinching or bruising the skin.

The number of hooks on each strip I2 is less than the number of eyes on the corresponding strip l4 so that the bands may be adjusted vertically relative to the girdle; This arrangement is of particular importance to pregnant women because it permits the bands to give the extra support where it is needed without binding at sensitive portions of the body. Some women carry babies higher than others and the supporting bands of the girdle of the present invention may be adjusted to provide comfort and support to the wearer during all stages of her pregnancy. The support thus may follow the body contour changes.

The supporting bands are detachably secured at each end and, if the extra support is not required, the bands may be removed and the girdle worn as a regular girdle. The laces may be pulled tightly along the entire length of the garment to make it follow closely the body contour. Conventional garter supporters l1 are secured to the lower edge of the girdle.

It will be, obvious that any suitable fastening means may be substituted for hooks l3 and eyes l5. For example, snap fasteners may be used. The only essential requirement is that the fastening element that is secured to the girdle exceed in number the cooperating fastener elements secured to the edges of the supporting bands, so that the supporting bands may be secured in a plurality of different positions relative to the height of the girdle.

Although I have described a preferred embodiment of the invention in considerable detail, it will be understood that the description is intended to be illustrative, rather than restrictive, as many details may be modified or changed without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly, I do not desire to be restricted to the exact structure described.

I claim:

1. A maternity girdle comprising a front portion, a back portion, a gusset on each side joining said front and back portions, abdominal supporting means detachably secured to the inner surface of said front portion, said abdominal supporting means consisting of a pair of transverse bands stitched together to form a single X-shaped unit, a pair of strips, the adjacent ends of the said bands on opposite sides of the X- shaped unit being secured to one of said strips, thereby preventing relative movement between said ends, a plurality of vertically aligned fastening means on each of said strips, and a plurality of vertically aligned cooperating fastening means on opposite sides of the inner surface of said front portion, each of said last named fastening means being greater in number than the first named fastening means whereby said abdominal supporting means may be vertically adjusted relative to said front portion.

2. A girdle comprising a front portion, a back portion, a panel on each side joining said front and back portions, abdominal supporting means detachably secured to the inner surface of said front portion, said abdominal supporting means consisting of a pair of transverse bands arranged to form a single X-shaped unit, a pair of strips, the adjacent ends of the said bands on opposite sides of the X-shaped unit being secured to one of said strips, thereby preventing relative movement between said ends, a plurality of vertically aligned fastening means on each of said strips, and a. plurality of vertically aligned cooperating fastening means on opposite sides of the inner surface of said front portion, each of said last named fastening means being greater in number than the first named fastening means whereby said abdominal supporting means may be vertically adjusted relative to said front portion.

MARY E. SCHLAGETER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,507,403 Von Halle Sept. 2, 1924 1,716,993 Von Halle June 11, 1929 1,854,539 Binswanger Apr. 19, 1932 2,168,009 Van Praag Aug. 1, 1939 2,351,566 Welsch June 13, 1944 2,409,601 Truesdell Oct. 15, 1946 

